Later, as Jasper leaves the tomb, the Deputy discovers that some of his keys are missing. After exchanging some classic Music Hall banter with the Mayor, Durdles reveals that Jasper recently asked to be shown the crypts. The Mayor meets up with Durdles, a drunken buffoon who works in the graveyard with the assistance of his young Deputy. The Chairman, who now plays two roles, and Jasper, who lives a duplicitous life, celebrate life’s dual nature (“Both Sides of the Coin”). When an inebriated Music Hall actor fails to make his entrance, the Chairman steps into the supporting role of Mayor Sapsea. Puffer, taking note of Jasper’s outburst, collects her money and sees him off.īack in Cloisterham, Neville and Drood meet and clash immediately (“A British Subject”). He wakens from the episode crying out for Rosa Bud. The Chairman directs the audience’s attention to a new setting: in the East End of London, in her sinister opium den, the aging Princess Puffer reflects on the "Wages of Sin." Puffer attends to a hallucinating addict, revealed to be the choirmaster John Jasper! In a dreamy opium- and laudanum-induced ballet, Jasper sees himself murdering Drood. Neville is immediately attracted to Rosa, making him a romantic rival to both Edwin and Jasper. The kindly Reverend Crisparkle arrives, with two mysterious emigrants from Ceylon, Helena and Neville Landless. In Rosa’s private music lesson, Jasper presents her with a new song, rife with forbidden passion and longing (“Moonfall”). Drood is engaged to the fair Miss Rosa Bud, Jasper's music pupil and the object of his mad obsession. The Chairman then sets the scene: In Cloisterham Cathedral, troubled choirmaster John Jasper joyfully greets his beloved nephew Edwin Drood, played by the company’s resident male impersonator, Miss Alice Nutting (“Two Kinsmen”). Because Dickens “ungenerously” died before finishing his novel, tonight the audience will be asked to “vote upon key questions regarding the outcome of our plot.” Therefore, the Chairman implores, everyone must pay close attention. Tonight, the Music Hall Royale will present Charles Dickens’ final story, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In the bustling atmosphere of the Music Hall Royale, a raucous Victorian theatre company, the troupe’s Chairman welcomes the audience and introduces the cast (“There You Are”).
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